1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an improved structure for an intermediate joint which joins a front and a rear portion of a side member used in a vehicle body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 10-287269 teaches joining a front and a rear member to form a front side member for use in automotive vehicles. The front member is made of an extruded thin plate, while the rear member is made of an extruded thick plate. A strut housing reinforcement and a suspension bracket are so attached to the front side member as to cover a connection of the front and rear members in order to increase the strength of the connection. This structure serves to distribute various impacts acting on the front side member over parts joining a strut housing, etc. to support the front side member securely. Further, when the automotive vehicle is involved in a front-end collision, the front member made of the extruded thin plate is subjected to plastic deformation to absorb physical energy oriented in a direction of axial compression completely.
The above structure of the front side member, however, has a drawback in that it is difficult to standardize the structure for common use in different types of automotive vehicles because the body size, body structure, and type of suspension are different between the vehicles.
Increasing the degree of reinforcement of the suspension bracket to a desired level against a vertical bending moment exerted on the suspension bracket from the front side member requires increasing the overall thickness of the suspension bracket, which, however, results in a great increase in weight of the structure.